So I’m a little behind…
My apologies… I’ve gotten behind with my posting with both a brand new puppy in the house and a new medication that has totally destroyed my appetite for the last couple of weeks. Can you believe I actually cringe at the thought of eating something sweet right now? Oh, the horror!
I’m still checking in on my Google Reader every day to see what everyone is up to but just haven’t found the time to comment. Once things settle down and my sweet tooth returns, I’ll be back to catch up on everything. :)
Only a few fainting spells…
Something exciting happened at Something Sweet by Karen. My recent Tyler’s Ultimate Cheesecake post for Tyler Florence Fridays was selected to be featured this week on Tyler Florence’s blog. Yes, the man himself! Click here to see the entry.
I couldn’t be happier. I love Tyler, his recipes, his show and his books, and I love being a part of the Tyler Florence Fridays group. Every week, TFF members cook and bake an impressive line up of Tyler’s recipes. I urge you to check out what everyone has been up to.
Showcases of TFF members will now be a weekly feature over at Tyler’s site, and one of many new innovative and interactive ideas being launched. It’s all very exciting, I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
TFF – Back next Friday!
I have to take another pass on Tyler Florence Fridays this week.
I have a few things to post about that I’ve made over the last few weeks. I just can’t find the time to get them out of the “draft” phase to move them to the “publish” phase. I’ll be back. My apologies to Deb, Megan, and Natashya!
TWD…. running late!
Cookies are done. They just need to be photographed and written about.
Check back tonight!
Be Berry Surprised…
This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was Berry Surprise Cake chosen by Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen. This cake is probably one of my favorite TWD selections to date.
I was excited to make this one since it’s one of the things in The Book that always caught my interest. I love super decadent desserts (in moderation, of course), but my real soft spot is for things like this cake that are only slightly sweet and have fresh fruit as a main component. The cake has a hollowed out center with berries and a cream cheese filling hidden inside. A whipped cream topping covers everything with a few fresh berries on top for show.
I halved the recipe and used two 4 inch springform pans to bake in. I had no problems making any of the four elements of the recipe: A Génoise cake layer (which is pretty similar to my favorite Hot Milk Sponge Cake), a simple syrup (I just used raspberry jam mixed with water and sugar), the cream cheese filling (I added a little extra vanilla and sugar to this), and the whipped cream topping. Everything was very easy. I had my own surprise though when I went to the fridge to get the raspberries I had bought for this and found mold growing on them. I’m telling you, surprise trips to the grocery store are always a bad surprise. I was even more surprised when my local grocery store had no raspberries for sale at all. I chose to do blackberry instead.
My génoise sunk in the middle which seemed to be a common problem amongst other bakers. I didn’t really care about this too much since I was making mini cakes. You have to cut a hole out of the middle anyway, so I figured having a baked in hole already saved me a step. The only issue was I didn’t have a top layer to cut off to cover the inside. I just loaded it up with extra filling and whipped cream. No worries.
I would probably only make this cake for serving at my home, I don’t think it would be something I would bring to a party, etc. It does look beautiful though considering how casual it is. And it’s absolutely delicious.
Thanks to Mary Ann for choosing Berry Surprise Cake for the January 20th, 2009 edition of Tuesdays with Dorie, it was a great pick. Please head over to Meet Me in the Kitchen to view the recipe and see what Mary Ann had to say about her choice. Then if you want to see even more cakes, stop by the TWD site to check out about 400 more Berry Surprises. 
Next week, Heather of Sherry Trifle chose Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread. See you next Tuesday!
Tuesdays with Dorie – Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins
Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake chose Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins for this edition of Tuesdays with Dorie. This was the first non-sweet of the group so far. I have to admit, it was refreshing to get a taste of one of Dorie’s recipes with something other than sugar as a main ingredient.
The muffin is a cornbread with red peppers, jalapeños, cilantro and corn kernels. I made them for breakfast and thought they were pretty good. I thought they were spicy but my boyfriend didn’t agree at all, he said they were “blah”. I’m actually not sure I’d make them again, I’m just not a big fan of cornbread unless it’s really sweet. I’m glad I gave them a shot though.
Stop by Ezra Pound Cake to view the recipe and to see what Rebecca thought of her choice. Then make your way over to Tuesdays with Dorie to check out what over 300 other members had to say.
Next week, Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen has selected Berry Surprise Cake.
Back in Business (kind of) with Butterscotch Pudding.
With the holiday season in full swing, I got so wrapped up in working, shopping, visiting and meals out at restaurants that I was only in the kitchen to make coffee in order to keep myself awake for it all. I had a great time during the holidays though and hope you did too. I got a few new cookbooks, a silicone baking mat, subscriptions to both Gourmet and Bon Appetit, and Nike Fitness for my marathon training goals (by the way, you can track my progress on my sidebar with how many miles I’ve completed so far. It’s not very many yet, but it’s better than zero!).
Anyway, Butterscotch Pudding was chosen by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases. This turned out to be one of my favorite TWD selections so far. I wasn’t that crazy about making it for some reason, and that alone should have told me I would love it. It always seems to work that way. I’ve never been a huge butterscotch fan but I now believe brown sugar and butter are a good couple. Throw in a little Scotch Whiskey and it’s truly a match made in heaven.
Dorie knows what she’s doing with these types of desserts. I followed her recipe exactly (which can be found over at Donna’s) and it was perfect topped with fresh homemade whipped cream and crushed peanuts.
Next up is Tall and Creamy Cheesecake. Stay tuned….
Back to business in a few…
I’ve fallen quite behind with my posting. I’ll catch up soon. Hope everyone had a great holiday!
Going to the City of Brotherly Love…
After a super long week of being totally sick while having to work overtime, coming home late and falling into bed exhausted, then waking up just to repeat it all over again… I’m going to Philadelphia for the weekend for some well needed R&R.
Next week, I’m on VACATION which I’m so looking forward to. I really need a break since things have been so crazy lately.
That also means that I’ll plenty of time to catch up on Barefoot Bloggers, My Kitchen My World and a few other things I have not posted about yet…
Stay Tuned!
My Kitchen, My World: Mexico
This week, the My Kitchen, My World group went to Mexico to find culinary inspiration. I went to Mexico on a cruise back in January of 2003 and we went to Cozumel on one of our stops. Talk about the most beautiful beaches and crystal blue water I have ever seen, it was amazing. I’m used to gray oceans around here where I live.
I had to think for a while about what I would choose to make this week. I knew I would not be able to post on Saturday like I was supposed to due to timing issues. So I decided to wait until Sunday morning and make a common Mexican breakfast – Huevos Rancheros.
Huevos Rancheros translates to “Eggs Ranch Style”. Common versions consist of fried corn tortillas, a tomato based sauce and fried eggs. It’s a dish that I’ve never had before. One of my best friends eats Huevos Rancheros every Saturday at a popular local Mexican place so I decided this challenge was the perfect time for me to try it out for myself.
The sauce is probably the most complex thing to make in this dish and it’s not even hard. The recipe I used called for charring the tomatoes, onion and pepper before pureeing in a blender with a little salt and garlic. The tortillas are fried two at a time for about 30 seconds each. The eggs were cooked over medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then everything is put together and covered with some cheese and a little cilantro. Nothing to it really. This doesn’t have to just be a breakfast meal either.
Um, excuse the chip in my plate. Thanks.
I ended up using the Huevos Rancheros recipe in the big yellow Gourmet cookbook. I found a simplified version online at Epicurious that is worth checking out:
Click here for Gourmet’s Huevos Rancheros Recipe
Things I learned this week: I fried an egg for the first time ever (I think). Usually I just scramble them. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not much of a cook (I’ve always been partial to baking) so a lot of these techniques coming up in the future will probably be new to me. Just like cooking a whole chicken was last week – which I cooked and served upside down but hey… whatever.
Also, I HATE cilantro. I really do. It’s like the Seinfeld where Newman is forced to eat broccoli, he spits it out and exclaims “VILE WEED!”. That’s EXACTLY how I feel about cilantro. The taste and the smell just put me off. But anyway, I put the hate aside and used it in this recipe and it made it through ok.
Thanks to Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies who chose Mexico for all of us. Make sure you stop by her blog to check out her Mexican meal. And then stop by the My Kitchen, My World site to see everyone else’s.
On another note:
Susan of She’s Becoming doughMESStic who created the My Kitchen, My World blog event has also recently began Operation Baking Gals, a group that will bake monthly and send the baked goods overseas to troops stationed in Iraq.
About a week ago, Susan put out a call for help from fellow bloggers to help her bake enough goodies to send to her cousin stationed in Iraq and all of his troop mates. Within a few hours, she got such a tremendous response from people willing to help her out that she decided to create Operation Baking GALS (Give a Little Support) in order to keep it going to send homebaked goodness to other troops as well. The VERY FIRST package of cookies have been received by the soldiers and you can see the post with pictures over at the Operation Baking Gals site. I’m excited for Susan, this is amazing!!
If you’d like to join in, stop by Operation Baking Gals to sign up!
